Rumours persist in the world media that Crystal Palace Wilfried Zaha will leave the Eagles this summer. The Ivory Coast international has stated that he wishes to move elsewhere. Both Arsenal and Everton have reportedly had bids rejected for the winger.
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has even stated that he believes the Reds should make a late move for the winger. With just days remaining until the summer transfer window shuts, Zaha is running out of time to move elsewhere.
Palace’s biggest attacking threat
Crystal Palace have done their utmost to keep hold of Zaha this summer. The Ivorian did finish as top scorer for the Eagles last season, that hour fell to midfielder Luka Milivojevic, who benefitted greatly from the fouls won by the winger.
Without a doubt, the former Manchester United forward is the Eagles biggest attacking threat and main source of goals. Without him, Roy Hodgson’s side could very well have suffered relegation. Zaha contributed to just under half of all of the Eagles goals last season.
A worrying lack of fresh recruits
Palace sold highly-rated young full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United for a reported fee of £45million earlier in the summer transfer window. The money from the sale was expected to be handed to Hodgson to strengthen his team.
However, so far Palace’s only new signing is forward Jordan Ayew, who arrived for a fee of around £2.5million from Swansea after spending last season on loan at Palace. To say he was not prolific in the top-flight last season would be an understatement. In fact, he scored just once in 20 appearances. He is not exactly a stellar replacement of Zaha’s goals if the Ivorian does leave the club.
The Eagles had been linked with Everton midfielder James McCarthy, who is surplus to requirements on Merseyside. There has also been talk of a move for the Toffees Turkish striker Cenk Tosun. Both players were linked to the Eagles as potential makeweights in a deal for Zaha.
Both players could still find their ways to Selhurst Park, as Everton director of football Marcel Brands is looking to move on players so the Merseysider’s can add to their squad. McCarthy has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, while Tosun has just failed to impress since a move to the Toffees from Besiktas back in January 2018.
Eagles set for another relegation fight
Crystal Palace have struggled against the drop for the last few seasons under the experienced Hodgson. His managerial acumen has so far kept the Eagles out of the Championship. Palace are not amongst the favourites for relegation. However, if Zaha left this late in the transfer window it could be a devastating blow to their chances of maintaining their top-flight status.
At this stage of the transfer window, it could really go either way. There is no guarantee that Wilfried Zaha will still be plying his trade at Palace next season if he is not then it could be a very long campaign for the Eagles and their fans.
Will Wilfried Zaha still be at Crystal Palace beyond Thursday transfer deadline?
